Someone tell me about how these guns are. Is it a bad idea to shoot .357 Mag in them every now and then? Have a possible trade for one in the works.
*****
DWA M40The
Dan Wesson Arms Model 40 .357 Maximum is built on a stretched M44 .44 Mag frame. Since top strap and bottom strap are parallel, cylinder length is not limited by the tapered bottom strap of a single action. (Leastwise not without straightening the bottom strap in from to the grip frame, ala BFR.) Like its parent Model 44, the M40 features solid frame construction, pioneered in Bill Ruger’s Redhawk.
Due to barrel face erosion from a lot of high pressure fire in the Ruger Maximum, DWA released the M40 with two barrels, so the silhouetter could easily swap. Original barrels came with 1:14” right hand twist. Not very long after, the twist was changed to 1:16” RH. Later on the stainless M740 was rintroduced, with a chromoly 1:18-3/4” RH twist. (That’s right, stainless DWA’s have carbon steel barrels.)
Reading M40 twistThe only M40 and M740’s I’ve shot, in fact the only one’s I know of, have an 8” barrel, with barrel shroud vented to sneak the revolver under the IHMSA
Production category weight limit of 4-pounds (64 ounces). The 8” barrel makes it easy to observe the twist rate without measuring....
Look down the bore----8” bbl----observe LAND @ 6 o’clock:
* 1:14”----land ends about 1 o’clock; greater than 180-degree arc.
* 1:16”----land ends at 12 o’clock; exactly 180-dregree arc.
* 1:18-3/4”----land ends about 10:30 o’clock----less than 180-degree arc.
My 1:14 and 1:16 M40 barrels were fantastic shooters.
Chamber-to-bore alignmentS&W long ago proved that you don’t need line boring to achieve near-zero runout. DAW proved it all over again in the school house converted to factory in Monson, Massachusetts. Pristine chamber-to-bore alignment, firm chamber exit holes, firm bore & groove, minimum 11-degree forcing cone, couple to clean, light single action break and fast lock time spell superior accuracy. DWA achieve this in spades on the firing lines of handgun silhouette, from Model 15 .357 Mag, to Model 44 .44 Mag, to Model 40 .357 Maximum.
End shakeDue to yoke indexing with frame, some end shake is normal. Thus, the barrel is headspace to prevent the hand from pushing the cylinder face against the barrel face. In practical terms, the resultant barrel/cylinder gap promotes SPITTINGS and reduces velocity. In IHMSA competition it was verboten to rotate the cylinder by hand, unless a part broke and it was otherwise safe to complete the match.
M44/M40 triggerSingle action break may be tuned down to a clean 1.5 lbs. Double action pull is irrelevant.
Ruger Blackhawk .357 MaximumCylinder length limited by bottom strap taper. Bill Ruger, Jr., was ready to lengthen frame, backed by his father, while I held out for preserving frame length of the seven SRM prototypes. Bill, Jr., was in mind of lengthening the maximum case from 1.605” to 1.660”, which would have necessitated a longer frame; I resisted both. Aesthetics as well as strength played on my mind, although the strength issue didn’t phase Bill or Bill, Jr.
A shooter has to go about handloading all wrong to stress either a Ruger or Dan Wesson frame, or cylinder.
The Ruger Maximum uses a George Wilson barrel, button rifled 1:16”. Chamber-to-bore alignment varies more on Rugers than Dan Wessons. Forcing cone of a Ruger Maximum could be either my short 11-degree included angle, or the deeper 5-degree favored by Bill, Jr.
Lock time is longer for the Blackhawk. After all, it is a single action.
TriggerIn general, a hunting letoff should be a pound or two heavier than a competition letoff.
My competition tunes run down to clean 1 lb., factory parts including trigger spring. (Aftermarket parts, including springs, were not allowed in silhouette.) Many shooters cannot trust themselves with a 1 pound trigger, and this includes a few steel shooters. I increase the CONTACT PATCH when holster work is on the menu and a light break is desired. Fast draw does not ruin a chromoly or stainless Ruger hammer & trigger when the contact patch is correct for the job.
DWA single action LETOFF, like that of the Colt Python, can be set lighter than on a Smith & Wesson.
Stationary vs moving targetDWA M40----easier to shoot accurately, freestyle or offhand. Probably about the same from sandbag rest.
Ruger----faster, more natural, on moving target.
David Bradshaw
